Glitch delays 787 Seattle-Tokyo flight

SEATAC, Wash. – The inaugural All Nippon Airways 787 flight from Sea-Tac airport to Tokyo has been delayed 24 hours by a mechanical glitch.

The Boeing 787 had been scheduled to take off early Monday afternoon, but officials said a faulty part in the airplane’s cooling system needed to be replaced.

Airline spokeswoman Jean Saito said a part would be taken from another 787 aircraft.

The plane had landed Monday morning and firetrucks sprayed rainbows of water to greet the first ANA 787 to land in commercial service at Sea-Tac. The jet took its passengers to a terminal gate and prepared for its afternoon departure back to Tokyo before the delay was announced in the late afternoon.

The rescheduled Seattle-Tokyo flight was to depart at 1:15 p.m. today.

ANA was Boeing’s launch customer for the new fuel-efficient widebody twin-engine jet. The airline started the Seattle-Tokyo route in July, using a Boeing 777.